Arthurs gets his reward in East

Good things come to those who wait. And so it proved for Forrest Little’s Eoin Arthurs, who salved the wounds of umpteen disappointments with an impressive four-stroke victory in the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Louth.

The 24-year-old former Boys International from Swords took advantage of a rare weekend away from his day job as a driving range operator and club-fitter to card rounds of 69 and 71 for a winning aggregate of six-under par 282.

Overnight leader Dara Lernihan of Castle and Westport’s Cathal O’Malley had to settle for a share of second place on two-under par 286 after respective final rounds of 73 and 74.

But no could deny Arthurs his place in the record books and his right to consign the moniker “One-Round-Arthurs” to the dustbin of bad memories.

The Dubliner had flattered to deceive on a couple of occasions earlier this season after turning headline grabbing performances in the opening stages of the West of Ireland and Irish Amateur Open championships into mere footnotes. This time it was different.

After opening with a 66 on Friday to take the two stroke lead, he followed up with a disappointing 76 on Saturday to fall three strokes behind the impressive Lernihan at halfway.

"One of the guys in the club said well done when I shot the 66 in the first round. But he told me that I had to go out and shoot another good score or I'd be remembered as One-Round-Arthurs," the champion recalled at the finish.

“When I shot 76, I thought, here we go again. But I got a pep talk from my girlfriend Finola and my caddie Conor O’Toole and I just went out there and played as well as I could.”

Despite a tricky southeast wind, Arthurs cracked a third round 69 on the sun-baked course to top the leadboard by a stroke on five-under par from Lernihan and never looked back as he fired four birdies and just three bogeys in a closing 71.

His long-range putting was excellent and it was fitting that he should clinch the championship with a brilliant 30-yarder that finished stone dead at the 18th for a closing birdie four.

What Irish Close and West of Ireland champions Shane Lowry would have given for a similar score is anyone’s guess.

Ten shots behind starting the day, Lowry hit a morning 67 to get back to level par and then cruised to within a stroke of Arthurs 54-hole total when he played the front nine in four-under par 33.

After lipping out for birdie at the 10th he bogeyed the 13th and felt he needed to go for the par-five 18th in two. But carved his three-wood approach out of bounds and after breaking the club in a momentary fit of anger, he apologised profusely but still bunkered his second attempt and closed with a triple bogey eight for a level par 72 which relegated him to a tie for fifth place on level par 288.

Arthurs father John looked set to collect a sizeable wager after putting €30 each way with Phoenix Racing in Swords at 60-1.

But his son was still the happier of the two after a victory that opens the doors to Leinster interprovincial honours and a possible Irish senior cap later this season.

"It feels unbelievable. I'm over the moon,” Arthurs said afterwards. “My ambitions this season were to win a title and play for Leinster and Ireland. I think I might be good for the Leinster team now. But I really want to play for Ireland again and this is a great start."

East set for photo finish

The scoring didn’t quite match the scorching weather but Portmarnock’s James Fox and Portstewart international Paul Cutler are bracing themselves for a charge from the chasing pack as they head the field entering the final 36 holes of the East of Ireland Amateur Open at sun-baked Co Louth.

Dunbar tops compact East of Ireland leaderboard

Title favourite Alan Dunbar remained at the head of affairs entering today’s final 36 holes in the East of Ireland Amateur Open at firm and fast County Louth.

The 21-year old Walker Cup prospect avoided the worst of the wet and windy morning conditions yet while he failed to take advantage of a major break in the weather after lunch he was still pleased to limit the ‘damage’ to a level par 72.

“I struggled today but I still managed to get it around,” said Dunbar, who leads by a stroke on four under par 140 from Galway’s Eddie McCormack, Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy and Headfort’s Rory McNamara, who carded a best of the day 68 in the worst of the early conditions.